A huge number of video game systems have been proposed. These systems include, for example, systems comprised of a special device for home use and a television monitor and systems comprised of a special device for business use, a personal computer or a workstation, a display and a sound output device. Any one of these systems includes a controller used by a game player for operation, a recording medium storing game program data, a CPU for executing controls to generate images and sounds based on the game program data, a processor for generating images, a processor for generating sounds, a CRT or like monitor for displaying images, and a loudspeaker for outputting sounds. CD-ROMS, semiconductor memories, cassette-type recording mediums having a built-in semiconductor memory are frequently used as the above recording medium.
It may be considered to execute a running competition such as a 100M dash in a game space as one kind of the game executed by such a game system. Specifically, in this running competition game, a plurality of play characters may be caused to appear on a track displayed on a monitor, the play character(s) whose running action is controlled by game player(s) and the other play characters whose running action is automatically controlled may be caused to compete with each other, ranking may be determined based on an order in which they reach a goal. In such a case, a multitude of frames of image data may be prepared between a starting pint to a goal point, and the play characters may be caused to make a series of running actions by successively displaying images based on the image data on the monitor.
In the case that a series of running actions are made as above, even a action different from usual running action such as raising of both hands at a position immediately before the goal can be so displayed as to smoothly follow the preceding action without any discontinuity, thereby giving no feeling of congruity to the game player. However, a large memory capacity is required to prepare a multitude of image data for successively displaying images from the starting point to the goal point, and a long time is required for the development of a program, leading to an increases in production costs.